Mechatronics Engineers- Jack of all trades, master of none?

Last Updated on August 7, 2023 by Vishnu Nambiar

Recently, I wrote two articles about the field of Mechatronics. One article was about the advantages of pursuing mechatronics course and the other one was related to details about mechatronics engineering course. Soon after completing the first article- advantages of pursuing mechatronics courses, it created a bit of a stir on social media sites (where I shared that post). Some folks pointed out that the field of mechatronics was a combination of many fields and that it made graduates ‘jack of all trades, master of none’! The discussion that happened over there is what caused me to come up with this article.

To be honest, mechatronics is one such field that has been created due to combination of many other fields of engineering. Due to this fact, the course material- theoretical and practical- have huge portions lifted from other engineering branches. Mechatronics students go through study material related to subjects such as mechanical, electrical, electronics and IC engineering! To an extent, this makes them ‘jack of more than just one trade’!

Graduates from almost all engineering branches have a specific field, an identity, when it comes to work. The case of mechatronics folks is a bit different. They are able to fit into various fields (and areas of work), but they are not real ‘exerts’ in those fields, like the other gradates are (of their respective fields). Some people see this as a lack of ‘identity’. This is why they call them ‘jack of all trades, master of none’.

But this scenario has its own advantage though! And it is the advantage that mechatronics graduates must focus and make use of! Due to gaining knowledge related to more than one branch of engineering, mechatronics graduates are very versatile! They are able to fit in across various industries and sectors (ranging from manufacturing to electronics!).

If it is getting a proper ‘identity’ that matters to you the most, you may get it by specializing in a particular discipline after completing undergraduate level mechatronics course! Postgraduate courses will enable one to specialize in fields such as nanotechnology, robotics, mechanical systems etc. This, according to me, will help one find a discipline and ‘become a master of it’! Do share your opinion about this topic in the comment section below.

Vishnu Nambiar

I am Vishnu Nambiar a career and educational blogger from India. I am also a full time educational consultant having more than 12 years of experience in the educational sector.

I share articles related to courses, colleges, careers, exam tips and more here.